Epoch 486
24/05/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.81

Blocks Allocated : 7

Blocks Produced : 7

Blocks on Chain: 6

Luck* : 145%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 3

The last epoch the pool produced seven blocks but one was lost to a slot battle , which is annoying but happens occasionally. For the next epoch we have an estimated three blocks.

No issues with the pool it continues to run well.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

- Information regarding slot battles

Epoch 487
29/05/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.81

Blocks Allocated : 3

Blocks Produced : 3

Blocks on Chain: 2

Luck* : 62%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 3

Not the best epoch with three blocks produced but only two credited due to another slot battle. For the next epoch we have another estimated three blocks to be allocated to the pool.

Another smooth epoch regarding the running of the pool. There is a new node available so we will look at rolling that out shortly.

The latest community update is here.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 488
03/06/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.81

Blocks Allocated : 3

Blocks Produced : 3

Blocks on Chain: 3

Luck* : 62%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 5

Apologies for being late with this update. All three blocks were produced and for the next epoch we have an estimated five blocks.

The pool continues to run well and in the upcoming epoch we have to rotate the KES keys on the pool which need to be done every three months. Once this is done we will start investigating the latest Cardano Node software.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 489
08/06/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.79

Blocks Allocated : 5

Blocks Produced : 5

Blocks on Chain: 5

Luck* : 104%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 2

For the past epoch the pool was allocated and produced five blocks. For the next epoch we have an estimated two blocks.

The KES was renewed after the five blocks were produced so we wait for the next block to ensure there are no issues. Other than that a smooth epoch with the pool running well.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 490
13/06/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.79

Blocks Allocated : 2

Blocks Produced : 2

Blocks on Chain: 2

Luck* : 42%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 2

We are coming to the end of another epoch and we produced the two blocks we were allocated. We seem to be in a bad luck streak at the moment as for the next epoch we again estimate two blocks will be allocated to the pool. It is frustrating but that is the way the protocol works(*).

The KES keys were rotated successfully and the new blocks made and we have been pretty busy upgrading both the hardware and the software this epoch. We have upgraded a couple of machines to 8 core 32GB RAM as this is now needed (24 GB+) with peer to peer (P2P) activated. We have upgraded all of our nodes to the latest Cardano node version 8.9.3 and all nodes are now running P2P - the block producer has it enabled to use the latest network stack but also there is a parameter to stop it connecting using P2P so it only connects to our relays (useLedgerAfterSlot = -1) so it's IP address remains hidden.

This required some work to understand the config and topology files and we have also enabled true P2P discovery on the relays and bootstrapping. This has also meant an upgrade to grafana for monitoring and changes to our monitoring script as some values we relied on have changed. So we are close to be ready for the upcoming hard fork with the next Cardano node 9.0 release and when the new node is released and we upgrade this signals this to IOG who will proceed with the Chang hardfork only when a certain percentage of the SPO's are upgraded. We are still tweaking things but all looks good with the new setup.

The latest Community Digest is available for those interested in the latest news in the Cardano ecosystem, and explains what is coming in node version 9.0.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 491
18/06/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.77

Blocks Allocated : 2

Blocks Produced : 2

Blocks on Chain: 2

Luck* : 42%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 9

For the past epoch the pool was allocated two blocks and these were produced and made it to the chain. For the next epoch we have a very respectable nine blocks which is nice after the lean time we have had recently.

After all the work last week to upgrade hardware and software all nodes were successfully running 8.9.3 the latest Cardano node and using full P2P (peer to peer) discovery and not using a third party system to find peers which is great and a step forward for the network. We noticed that after the upgrade the relays were restarting every twelve hours approximately but the block producer was not. During the upgrade process we tweaked some of the RTS (RunTime System) Haskell options on the relays so we reset these back and since then all nodes have been stable. The restart was not a server restart but the Cardano service we have setup which is setup so that if the service crashes for any reason it is restarted. We had alerts for server restarts, high CPU/RAM usage, stopped processing transactions, etc. but we did not have an alert for the service restart so this has been added to our monitoring solution.

The next task is to look into setting up a Mithril signer. This is supposedly easy but of course that is supposing you understand the theory and concepts behind this so we will do some reading in the upcoming epochs.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 492
23/06/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.77

Blocks Allocated : 9

Blocks Produced : 9

Blocks on Chain: 8

Luck* : 189%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 7

The pool had nine blocks and all these were produced but we lost the first block to a slot battle. This always seems to happen when you get a good allocation of blocks but we still had a good epoch with eight blocks on-chain and for the next epoch again a nice allocation of seven blocks.

The pool is running very nicely with the new node software in full P2P (Peer to Peer) mode. As we mentioned last epoch we looked into mithril and now have a mithril signer installed on the block producing node and a we setup squid on the relay to proxy the traffic out to protect the block producer node (it only ever talks to the relays). We can see that mithril is working but it takes two epochs until we can sign transactions. The documentation was pretty good but it still takes time to install and configure and add firewall rules and install squid and it's access lists on the relay.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 493
28/06/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.72

Blocks Allocated : 7

Blocks Produced :7

Blocks on Chain: 7

Luck* : 148%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 9

The pool was allocated seven blocks and all were produced and made it to chain.

The pool continues to run really well and even held up to the DDOS attack that happened this epoch. The attack started and we could immediately see that our relay CPU use was suddenly higher from appox 3-4% to around 30% load. This was strange and we saw someone else reporting this in the SPO group and from there people looked into and found the attack. Long story short the network did what it was designed for and the attacker lost funds but still there is a new Cardano node software release to help mitigate this type of attack in the future. We will upgrade to the new node during the epoch.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 494
03/07/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.72

Blocks Allocated : 9

Blocks Produced :9

Blocks on Chain: 9

Luck* : 191%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 2

A very nice epoch with all nine blocks produced and making to chain and we even won a slot battle with two other pools for the first block! For the next epoch not great but the pool has an estimated two blocks allocated.

As mentioned last epoch there was a DDOS attack on the network - generally we saw an increased CPU load on our relay servers. The attack was actually stopped by a member of the Cardano community - amazing! Anyway as a result of this IOG released two new Cardano nodes (8.9.4 and 8.12.1) and we upgraded to 8.9.4 this epoch on all our servers. We are close to the 9.0 release signalling the Chang hardfork (when 70%) of the SPO's upgrade bringing in the next era in Cardano.

Here is the last Cardano Community update for those interested.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 495
08/07/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.72

Blocks Allocated : 2

Blocks Produced :2

Blocks on Chain: 2

Luck* : 42%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 6

The two blocks the pool was allocated were produced and made it to chain and for the next epoch we have an estimated six blocks.

A quiet epoch with no maintenance on the pool as everything is running smoothly. We await the release of the 9.0 release of the Cardnoa node which when adopted by 70% of stake pool operators will signal the Chang hard fork and the era of self governance. Well after looking at something else while writing this we had an email saying 9.0 Cardano node has been released. We will be upgrading within the next two epochs as per our normal upgrade procedure. Wait a while for any bugs that might be found then upgrade.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 496
13/07/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.72

Blocks Allocated : 6

Blocks Produced :6

Blocks on Chain: 6

Luck* : 127%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 3

All six blocks that were allocated to the pool were produced and for the next epoch we have an estimated three blocks.

There will be some delay for the hard fork with various tools used by all needing to be upgraded and after being on a call with IOG the other day it seems there will be a node version 9.1.0 with the required genesis files for hard fork included so there is no need to upgrade quickly. We have one node on 9.0.0 and the rest on 8.9.4 (this contains a fix for the recent DDOS attack) so we are looking good for being ready to upgrade when the time comes.

The latest Cardano communuty digest is here for those interested.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 497
18/07/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.72

Blocks Allocated : 3

Blocks Produced :3

Blocks on Chain: 3

Luck* : 64%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 10

The three blocks the pools was allocated were all made and for the next epoch we have an estimated ten blocks.

We were pretty busy with other projects this week so just pool monitoring and we are happy how the pool is operating. Hopefully give some more details next epoch on how the progress to the upgrade to 9/9.1 is progressing.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 498
23/07/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.71

Blocks Allocated : 10

Blocks Produced :9

Blocks on Chain: 8

Luck* : 212%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 2

Out of the ten blocks eight were credited on chain. One was lost to a slot battle and one was lost due to a pool problem that occurred just before the block was going to be produced and we could not recover in time to make the block. We have looked into this and we have made a few changes to our operating procedures to help mitigate this going forward in the future. For the next epoch we have an estimated two blocks allocated.

We have introduced a third relay (hidden - not advertised on-chain although discoverable via P2P) and this is running the latest 9.0.0 node. Over the next epoch as we have plenty of time with just two blocks to produce we will upgrade the other two relays and block producer to 9.0.0 as well. This is not the version that will signal the hard-fork readiness but there will be a new node 9.1.0 released in the next few weeks which will be the version that will signal (when 70% of the pool operators upgrade) that we are ready for the hard fork. There is also a new version of Mithril that needs to be installed as well.

For those interested the latest Cardano Community Digest is here.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 499
28/07/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.7

Blocks Allocated : 2

Blocks Produced :2

Blocks on Chain: 2

Luck* : 43%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 5

The two blocks the pool was allocated were produced and for the next epoch we have an estimated five blocks.

This epoch we have upgraded all our nodes to the latest 9.1.0 release which is required for the hard fork. Upgrading also signals to IOG that we are ready and when approx. 70% of the SPO’s have upgraded the hard fork procedure will be started. This epoch we also upgraded to the latest mithril signer and we are one of approximately four hundred pools running mithril signers.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 500
02/08/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.71

Blocks Allocated : 5

Blocks Produced : 5

Blocks on Chain: 4

Luck* : 106%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 9

Apologies for the delay in the last epochs update it was sent but just looking now we had to resend it to get it visible?? Anyway we made five blocks this epoch but on the last one we had a slot battle and lost so only four blocks were credited to the the chain. For the next epoch we have an estimated nine blocks.

Not much work on the pool this epoch as we stated in the previous update we are updated to node version 9.1.0 which will signal the hard fork. There are conditions to the fork being activated, the number of pools running the correct node is one. Tools need upgrading, exchanges need to upgrade which will take time so it will probably be at least another two to three weeks before it happens.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 501
07/08/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.72

Blocks Allocated : 9

Blocks Produced : 9

Blocks on Chain: 8

Luck* : 191%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 3

A good epoch with eight blocks credited. The lost block was due to a slot battle with Binance which we lost but we also won another slot battle that occurred. For the next epoch we have an estimated three blocks.

For those interested in the readiness for the Chang hard-fork you can look here and see all the moving parts. The SPO's (Stake Pool Operators) are part of this and we need approx 75% of the blocks produced to be by 9.1.0 nodes. Currently it looks like around 46% of the blocks are produced by 9.1.0 so we have some to go. It looks like Binance have started to migrate so that figure should jump quite a bit when they are ready.

A tough week in the markets but we believe in Cardano for the long term, so onward!

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 502
12/08/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.55

Blocks Allocated : 3

Blocks Produced : 3

Blocks on Chain: 3

Luck* : 66%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 4

The pool produced all three blocks allocated and for the next epoch we have an estimated four blocks.

Not much to report just monitoring how the hard fork is progressing. The SPO's are close to the metric needed and currently produce around 73% of all blocks with version 9.1.0 which is close to the needed 75%. We still need to wait for exchanges to upgrade so looks like maybe the end of August or early September for the hard fork (See previous post for the link to monitor hard fork readiness). We are ready with everything upgraded so there should be no issues.

This epoch we have done no work to the pool. We need to tidy up a few items but these can be done over the coming epochs.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 503
17/08/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.56

Blocks Allocated :4

Blocks Produced : 4

Blocks on Chain: 4

Luck* : 88%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 5

The pool produced all four blocks allocated and for the next epoch we have an estimated five blocks.

The SPO’s (Stake Pool Operators) have met the required threshold for the Chang fork so now it seems we need to wait for liquidity percentage to be met. This will be met by exchanges upgrading.

Nothing to report with regards to pool operation - we are happy with the performance and we are ready for the hard fork.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 504
22/08/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.56

Blocks Allocated :5

Blocks Produced : 5

Blocks on Chain: 5

Luck* : 110%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 10

The pool produced all the five blocks allocated and for the next epoch we have an estimated ten blocks.

Regarding the hard fork it looks like it will be August 27th "The Chang hard fork working group met today and reviewed the progress against the desired thresholds, as well as the community feedback and sentiment for the upcoming Chang hard fork. The group is excited to be able to formally propose the first set of dates for the Chang #1 hard fork on the production mainnet;
The target for mainnet hardfork is Tuesday 27th August, with a final go/no go decision scheduled for early Friday 23rd August."

Charles also released a video for those interested - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akjxm000HQs

We are ready for the hard fork and look forward to a new era in Cardano. There will be challenges for sure and tough times but it will be an exciting journey for all.

The pool ran perfectly this epoch and we are happy with the performance.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.

Epoch 505
27/08/2024
Contact - info@genepool.one

Expected number of blocks (based on delegation/stake): 4.6

Blocks Allocated :10

Blocks Produced : 10

Blocks on Chain: 10

Luck* : 217%

Blocks Predicted for the Next Epoch: 3

A very nice epoch for the pool with all ten allocated blocks produced and credited onchain. For the next epoch we have an estimated three blocks allocated.

Regarding the Chang hard fork, here are the latest stats...

"Key Update
By Stake, we have now reached 92% of SPOs on 9.1.0 - the desired hard fork threshold for SPOs has been reached 🎉
By Liquidity, we have now 49% of Exchanges on 9.1.0, with desired hard fork threshold at 85%, by count we are 57% ready
By TVL, DApps are over 50% ready, with steady progress and testing on PreProd from August 24
The next potential hard fork date is: September 1, 2024 🎉🎉"

So perhaps due to the liquidity it may be mid September before the fork?? Only time will tell.

The last Community Digest is located here for those interested.

The pool again ran very nicely this epoch with no issues and we are happy with the performance.

Nothing else of note to report so until the end of the next epoch have a great five days and we will return with a short update.

*– Blocks are allocated randomly each epoch based upon total stake a pool has just like a lottery. Luck refers to how many blocks were allocated to a pool against the expected blocks that the pools should produce. Some epochs (5 day periods) you will be allocated more blocks and some less but over time it should even out.